Varnava, Serbian Patriarch

Template:Short description Template:Infobox Patriarch Template:Template other Template:Short description Varnava Rosić (Template:Lang-sr-cyr) was the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church from 1930 to 1937.Template:Sfn

Varnava was a leading figure during the Concordat crisis, where the Serbian Orthodox bishops opposed the adoption of a concordat between the Holy See and Yugoslavia in the Yugoslav assembly.

Life

He was born Petar Rosić in Pljevlja, belonging at that time to the Ottoman Empire, on August 29, 1880. He attended primary school in his hometown. He graduated from theological and teacher training in Prizren in 1900. As a cadet of the Russian Holy Synod, he studied at the Theological Academy in Petrograd and graduated in 1905 with the degree of candidate of theology. He was tonsured on 30 April 1905.Template:Sfn

Since Metropolitan Parthenios of Debar, and Veles (1907-1913) was frequently absent from his eparchy, serving as a member of the Holy Synod in Constantinople, it was decided that an auxiliary bishop should be appointed for the administration of the eparchy. By that time, Varnava Rosić was serving as a Serbian Orthodox priest in Constantinople. He was chosen and consecrated as bishop on 10 April 1910 in the Patriarchal Church of Saint George.Template:Sfn

As an auxiliary bishop serving in the Eparchy of Debar and Veles, he welcomed the liberation of that region from Turkish rule in 1912 and annexation to the Kingdom of Serbia. Metropolitan Parthenios was finally transferred to another eparchy in 1913, and bishop Varnava was left in charge not only in the Eparchy of Debar and Veles, since the administration of other ecclesiastical territories annexed to the Kingdom of Serbia was also entrusted to him.Template:Sfn

During First World War, upon the Bulgarian occupation of southern parts of Kingdom of Serbia in 1915, he had to leave his eparchy, returning after liberation in 1918.Template:Sfn In 1920, he was elected Metropolitan of Skopje and served in that eparchy until 1930, when he became a new Serbian Patriarch.

During the office of Varnava, the dioceses of Zagreb and Mukacheve was formed. Between 1931 and 1937, the Serbian Church consisted of 27 dioceses and a vicariate in Skadar, Albania. Church life was on the move in all regions. Many monasteries, churches and church buildings were erected, some of these being the present Patriarchate building in Belgrade, and the Vavedenje Monastery. The construction of the edifice of the great Temple of Saint Sava was initiated in Belgrade (one of the largest churches in the world).

Varnava firmly resisted the introduction of legislation giving greater privileges to the Catholic Church not in Yugoslavia in general, but in Serbia in particular (hence The Concordat Crisis). He maintained that these would certainly undermine the positions of the Serbian Orthodox Church and other faiths in the country. He died unexpectedly on July 24, 1937, a few hours after the lower house of Parliament voted to ratify the Concordat, 166 to 128. The Holy Synod was also against government pro-Concordat policy. His death resulted in protests and violent street demonstrations ensued, leading the government to withdraw the new legislation.

During the crisis, in a German newspaper in May 1937, Varnava praised Adolf Hitler for his stance towards the Catholic Church, calling it "an example of decisiveness that Yugoslavia should emulate."Template:Sfn

An inquiry into his death found traces of poison. It is believed that Patriarch Varnava was deliberately poisoned because of his struggle against Concordat, though his death is still unresolved.

He was the great-uncle of performance artist Marina Abramović.

Patriarch Varnava was awarded Order of the White Eagle and a number of other decorations.

See also

• List of 20th-century religious leaders

External links

• Prayerful remembrance of Patriarch Varnava Rosić